INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor,My career plan is in a mess. I want to become a doctor. Throughout the biomedical science course I studied, I worked as a nurse, and I am presently a paediatric special care nurse (unqualified, so it pays a lot less). I'm also involved in clinical research. However, I do not see a career in nursing, although I enjoy having contact with patients and working in a...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor,Having begun a career in science (laboratory based) I've decided it isn't for me and have looked into alternatives. One that appeals is to retrain as a lawyer. What are the pros and cons of a major career change such as from a science-based career to a legal one? KateI'm in the penultimate year of my degree and have decided on a career in law. How worried shoul...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor, My higher education consists of a 2:1 BSc in mathematics with logic and philosophy of science from St. Andrews University, followed by a MSc in mathematical modelling and scientific computation at Oxford. As an undergraduate, I found it difficult to get some work experience, so after my MSc I decided I would contemplate doing a PhD once I gained some experienc...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear Career Doctor,I've just started the second year of my degree and am considering taking a year out next year. What are my options? What are the benefits of sandwich placements during degrees? Also, how do I choose a placement that has the most value to me?Maria Dear Maria, Adding a sandwich year to your degree (so called because the placement is sandwiched between the penult...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor Help! I don?t know what to do with my degree qualification! Carolyn Dear Carolyn: Whether it?s a bachelor?s, master?s, or PhD, and whatever discipline your brand-new degree is in, you have three broad options on graduation: Find a job which directly relates to your degree Find a job which will attach some value to the knowledge and practical skills you?ve acqui...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctorI was wondering if you could help me? I know the job I'd like to do, but I don't know if it exists! I'm finishing my PhD in cell biology and I would then like to act as an education/community liaison person within a university. I'm very interested in communicating science to school kids, but I do NOT want to be a teacher.I'd like to act as a contact for (life) s...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor,I've just started applying for jobs again and have found lots of advice on interview technique, but I want to prepare for rejection and get a better understanding of why I'm not successful straight away if this happens to be the case. I'm worried about losing motivation if I don't get the DREAM job that I hope I'll find out there. What should I expect in terms ...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear Career Doctor,I did my PhD at Oxbridge in the 1990s, a time when working with animals other than rodents was becoming increasingly difficult and expensive in the UK. As a result we had to abandon what we really wanted to do, and so only one paper has been published so far. Two more (rather weak ones) are in the wings. Both the published paper and one other have the postdoc ...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear Career Doctor I graduated with a 2.1 in biophysics earlier in the summer and after talking to my tutor decided to get ahead with my plan of doing a Ph.D. I've been offered a position at my old department and it is tempting--?the supervisor is someone whose lectures I enjoyed, and I think staying in a familiar place will make it easier to take on the challenges of a Ph.D. (A...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctorI am currently a 2nd-year undergraduate student studying biomedical sciences at Kings College London. My subject covers a variety of fields, but I am mainly interested in genetics, cell/molecular biology, and physiology. I would like to apply for a summer placement at some kind of science-orientated workplace. I do not mind what type of job it is, even if it is ...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor,I'm 28 and now coming to the end of my first postdoc. Even though I've wanted to be a scientist from about age 10, I'm gradually coming to the conclusion that perhaps I'm in love with the idea of being a scientist, rather than the work itself. However, I am unsure enough to still be tempted to give it another go.I took a PhD because it was offered to me, and di...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor,I am currently in an MSc programme at the University of Toronto and will be finishing (I hope) by August 2003. I read your previous article, "Help! What do I do with my degree?" but have run into a different problem. I know what I want, but I am not sure if what I want is realistic.Here's a synopsis of my situation: I did my BSc in life sciences, and my MSc is ...
Our resident funding expert talks with the director of the world's largest scientific review organization and asks: Is CSR biased against new investigators?
The American Chemical Society has narrowed the scope of the half-billion-dollar Petroleum Research Fund. Also: Funding for science curriculum development.
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor,I'm a molecular neurobiologist currently postdocing in an environment that doesn't inspire me. I've done a lot of research into the options open to me, especially through reading Next Wave, and it seems the best solution would be to do a postdoc in a pharmaceutical or biotech company. I'm flexible about location, but would prefer to work in the UK, Ireland, Ger...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor:I'm in a quandary.I'm a university lecturer in Chemistry, but after a long period of uncertainty within my institution, I recently found out that I am likely to be made redundant as funding levels and undergraduate numbers have dropped to apparently untenable levels. I'm 35 and have lectured for 5 and a half years, following 5 years as a postdoc.As no other u...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor, I'm just about to start the final year of my Ph.D. at a U.K. university and really want to finish completely (i.e., submit my thesis) by the time my funding runs out; I can't afford to allow my student debt to grow any larger! The trouble is that, looking around my department, this almost impossible; I see many students who have been doing a Ph.D. for nearly 3...
INDEX OF ARTICLES Dear CareerDoctor, I am in the final year of my biochemistry degree, and once I've graduated I want to work in a lab abroad. But so far I've had little luck in figuring out how I could do this. Do you know of jobs abroad as a lab assistant, trainee, or the like? I don't want to do further studying or a Ph.D. yet but would like to actually earn some money! I should leave York wit...
